


The Words They Never Said

by Darker_Things



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Absent Parents, Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield Have a Good Relationship, Billy Hargrove Is Bad at Feelings, Billy Hargrove Redemption, Billy Hargrove Tries to Be a Better Person, Gen, Multi, Neil Hargrove's A+ Parenting, Platonic Relationships, Protective Billy Hargrove, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Soft Billy Hargrove, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26979628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darker_Things/pseuds/Darker_Things
Summary: A late night conversation between Max & Lucas about Billy, leads to the slow thaw of their frosty relationship and a new beginning for both of them.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair
Comments: 14
Kudos: 53





	1. Late Night Chats

**Author's Note:**

> Main purpose of this chapter is to outline how Max feels about Billy, so apologies if the conversation appears a bit one-sided lol Writing is also a relatively new thing for me, I don't think i've written a fanfic since I was teen myself so please bear with while I find my style & flow. 
> 
> Pre-warning that Max and Lucas get a little bit deep in this chapter, and might come across a slighty wiser beyond their years. Not really intentional on my part, but it's been a while since I was fourteen so to hell with it! It's only fiction!  
> Enjoy! Please read bottom note if you're interested to see what I have planned :)

The wind hummed slowly through the trees, carrying with it the thick embery smell of burning wood that dusted the air, remnants of a long since extinguished bonfire from somewhere nearby. The faint hushed giggles of two light minded teens swirled faintly in the breeze and lingered for a moment before being swept away in a gust. Max and Lucas were huddled together on the ledge of her bedroom window, her head nestled into his shoulder and his arm draped around her waist. The sound of the radio crackled softly somewhere from inside Max’s room, the volume turned low and the gravelly voice of Stevie Nicks barely drifted past their ears as they gazed up at the glittering stars that lined the dark velvety sky. 

It was a cute habit the pair of them had formed over the last month or so, as an easier way to spend more time together away from the party. Luckily for the pair of them, Max’s mother and stepfather were frequently away and Billy was usually out doing whatever, allowing Max the freedom to see Lucas at night without getting caught. 

Max sighed with content as Lucas pulled her closer to his side, he could feel her shivering slightly but she was too happy and comfortable to even begin to move anywhere. A part of Max feared that moving would disrupt the peace that had settled between them entirely, and it would never return. It was rare for them to have nice moments like this, any previous moments of romance were usually ruined by their boisterous friends, not that they were bothered. If it meant they could sneak around together and spend time like this, then neither teen minded at all. 

“Do you miss it? California I mean?” Lucas asked as he sat back from his position perched on the window ledge, his free hand wrapped around a can of soda that rested on his knee. 

“Mmm.” Max hummed, lifting her head from his shoulder to think about it. “I’m not really sure.”

Lucas grinned down at her “It must be better than here though, right?”

Max frowned in thought for a moment, if the same question had been asked several months ago then there was no doubt the young redhead would’ve jumped at the chance to go back to California, but now she wasn’t so sure. 

“I don’t think so.” She replied, looking at Lucas. “I mean I thought i’d miss it a lot more than I do, but I think I just miss my dad more than California itself.”

Lucas nodded “It must be hard with your dad that far away.”

Max shrugged “It is...but I talk to him on the phone a lot. I guess I’ll be going back to visit him at some point. It’s just hard to arrange anything since he and my mom don’t talk to each other anymore.”

“Tricky divorce?” Lucas asked softly, not wanting to push Max into talking about anything she wasn’t comfortable with. 

“You could say that.” Max snorted. Lucas didn’t press the issue further, instead opting to take a small sip from the can of soda. 

“Sometimes I wonder how things ended up here.” She continued quietly “it's weird...only feels like yesterday that my parents were married and I was living in Cali without a care in the world. Two years later I’m living in the middle of nowhere, my mom has remarried and now I have a stepbrother. It feels a bit surreal.”

“Did you think it was gonna be bad?” Lucas questioned “Moving in with Neil and Billy?”

“Well I wasn’t over the moon about it.” Max shrugged “But I think deep down I figured it would work itself out in the end, y’know? Besides, I kind of always wanted a brother...I guess in some fucked up way the universe answered and decided to give me one.”

“In the form of Billy Hargrove.” Lucas joked, offering the half empty soda can to Max who took it from him with a laugh. 

“Yeah, not exactly what I had in mind.” She quipped dryly before taking a sip of the drink, and shifted to lean back on one hand, swinging her legs playfully above the ground. 

“Yeah that kinda sucks.” Lucas agreed “You always wanted a brother and then you got landed with him, like what a shit deal.”

“Meh.” Max shrugged again, her face lips pursed slightly. “I’m trying to make the best of it now, it is what is.”

Lucas frowned “Best of what? He’s an asshole, there isn’t much to work with!”

Max giggled, passing the soda can back to her boyfriend “Yeah true, but it’s not like my mom is gonna divorce Neil anytime soon so that leaves me stuck with him, I try to stay out of his way mostly.”

“If I were him i’d be staying the fuck out of yours, especially if i had my balls threatened with a spiked baseball bat.” 

“It’s done the trick for now.” Max smirked

“Yeah, no kidding.” Lucas snickered 

It fell silent between them for a moment, they both turned to look upwards at the sky once again. 

“I don’t hate him you know.” Max murmured her gaze falling to the dark street before them, the faint light of the moon bouncing off of the cars that lined each house. 

“Who? Billy?” Lucas replied

She nodded, trying to suppress a tired yawn. “I used to think I did, but I dunno...in a weird way…i think...there’s something there to admire.”

“Really?” Lucas’s face twisted into a incredulous expression

“Well not everything obviously.” Max laughed “He’s always been a massive jerk and I don’t think that will change, but he’s more complex than that. Even though he goes through fucked up shit with Neil and everything, in a way he still manages to keep his head above water...right when we moved here it didn’t take him long to make a name for himself.”

Lucas pursed his lips before taking another sip of the half empty can of soda in his hand. 

“Do you feel bad for him?” 

Max shook her head quickly.

“I wouldn’t dare...he would hate that. What I mean is you could put Billy in any situation and he’ll have no problem finding his feet, he may not like it, but he takes it on the chin nonetheless.” Max shrugged “I guess that’s the thing that I find admirable about him, always wondered how he does it. When we left San Diego I was terrified of being stuck in an unfamiliar place with no friends, with only Billy around to torment me. The first few days were probably the loneliest I've ever felt until I met you guys.”

“You found your feet though.” Lucas pointed out “I mean...with us guys.”

Max smiled with a nod “I have you and Dustin to thank for that.”

“You know what I admire about you Max?” Lucas said, shifting around slightly. Her baby blue eyes gazed back up at him. 

“What’s that?” She smirked

“You don’t hesitate to put others in their place when it’s needed, you didn’t with us.” He shrugged “and when it came down to it, you didn’t back down when it came to Billy either...not many could find the guts to do that, especially with someone like him. He’s a fucking scary guy in general, not to mention when he’s mad.”

“I think I surprised myself to be honest.” Max lilted, bowing her head slightly, looking down at her feet. 

“But do you regret it though?” Lucas asked “...has he bothered you since?”

“I don’t regret it.” Max whispered, her fingers twirling through a loose strand of her hair “For one, If I hadn’t then I don’t think Steve would be in a functionable condition right now.”

Lucas grimaced slightly, the incident in question playing over in his mind. “Yeah I think you’re right.”

“He’s left me alone since, but there’s still a part of me that thinks he’ll start again one day.” Her tone faltered towards the end, coming to a slight pause as she contemplated the deep fear that had swirled through her mind since the incident in california with her old friend Nate. “He just has this look in his eyes, I can’t really explain what it is but it’s dangerous I know that much. It worries me.”

A look of concern flashed across Lucas’s face, he reached down and grabbed Max’s hand in his own, gripping it firmly. “What worries you? You think he’s gonna hurt you?”

“Perhaps not me.” Max mumbled, shaking her head “but with all the shit Neil gives him I know a time will come when he just snaps. That’s what I worry about. You saw what he did to Steve, when Billy goes for it, it’s uncontrollable.”

“You stopped him though.” Lucas squeezed her hand. 

“Exactly, I stopped him.” Max tensed “that one time. Next time I doubt there’ll be a syringe full of sedative lying around for me to stab him with. I’m scared he’ll end up killing someone, Neil especially. And then what? He lands himself in jail before he’s even begun living his life? It’s scary to me how easily that could happen.”

“You think he’d kill his own dad?” Lucas said quietly 

“Not intentionally.” She scoffed “but if your dad had continuously beat the shit out of you everyday for your entire life, don’t you think you’d reach your limit eventually?”

“True.” Lucas nodded “I don’t like to say it, but Neil would’ve had it coming.”

“You’re right.” Max agreed “He deserves it, but part of me feels like Billy deserves better than that, even if he doesn’t know it himself. He’s not an idiot, he could make it on his own easily.”

“Maybe he’ll leave one day.” Lucas thought loudly “...before anything else bad happens I hope.”

“I think he will too.” She nodded “Everytime he walks out the door, I wonder if it’ll be the last time I ever see him.”

“Would you miss him? If he didn’t come back.” 

“It's weird to say…”Max hesitated “but yeah I think that i would. I don’t feel so lonely when he’s home and it’s just us. We don’t talk or anything, in fact we’re rarely in the same room but it’s nice to know that he’s there, y’know?”

“Yeah I get it.” Lucas hummed softly 

“Plus if anyone decided to break in at night when Neil and mom are away, I honestly don’t think they’d stand a chance against Billy.” Max joked

Lucas chuckled “Oh yeah, they wouldn’t know what’s hit ‘em.”

“I would kinda like to see that.” Max sniggered

“Are you kidding? I’d pay money to see that!” Lucas mused

“If i’m being honest...”Lucas began after their amused giggling died down “Billy may be an asshole, but no one deserves to go through what he does. In a way, I think it’s kinda nice that you care about him, even if he hasn’t given you many reasons to want to.”

“I do care.” Max admitted with a whisper and then laughed “Can you believe that? I care about my asshole big brother Billy Hargrove. Damn, I think Hawkins is making me go soft!”

“It’s sure not gonna do him any harm.” Lucas chuckled “Maybe you should tell him.”

“Are you crazy?” Max snorted “He’d laugh in my face. Billy doesn’t do feelings and heart to hearts.”

“You never know.” Lucas teased “Maybe he’s been listening this entire time.” 

Max’s eyes widened suddenly at Lucas’s words, her hand clamping around his forearm tightly as she felt her heart plummet into her stomach and the blood rush to her face in panic. It had only occurred to her in that moment that she had no idea where Billy actually was. The thought of him overhearing her conversation about him with Lucas made her extremely uneasy.

“What?” Lucas asked, tone laced with worry at Max’s sudden change in mood “You think he’s home?”

Max was silent for another few moments before shaking her head and letting out a sharp exhale in an effort to calm the sudden acceleration of her heart.

“I’m pretty sure he’s out.” Her tone was uncertain “I haven’t seen him all day.”

“You sure…?” Lucas looked around warily, trying to see if he could make out the older teen’s infamous car parked anywhere along the street. 

“His car isn’t here.” Max seemed to be reassuring herself rather than stating a fact. 

“What if it’s round the back?” Lucas suggested, earning him a sharp smack on the arm from the redhead. 

“Shut up.” She hissed “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

Lucas snickered “I’m only messing, I’m sure if he was here he would’ve told us to shut the fuck up by now anyway.”

Max visibly relaxed “You’re right, he would’ve.”

But she couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that she was wrong. 

She was correct. 

Max was wrong, and Lucas had been right. 

Tucked away safely around the back of the Hargrove’s house, sat Billy’s blue Camaro, glimmering silently under the moonlight. And in the shadowed darkness of his room sat the blonde curly haired male in question, wide awake and perched on his bed by the window. Soft billows of blue smoke from the cigarette held loosely between his fingers escaped through the open gap, and the steady flow of conversation between two particular younger teens drifted in towards burning ears. 

. . . . . 

It was well into the dead of night when the door to Max’s room slowly creaked open, but she was dead to the world. Curled up in the warm comfort of her bed, her mind far away in the land of dreams. Billy took two hesitant steps towards her, The bare skin on his arms feeling the bite of the cold breeze blowing through her window. He sighed at her stupidity at leaving it open. He walked carefully around her bed, sliding the window shut as quietly he could before turning to gaze at the younger girl, still blissfully unaware of his presence. 

An open comic book peaked halfway out from underneath her arm, indicating to him that she had been reading it before she fell asleep. He pulled it from under her smoothly, his heavy lidded eyes scanning over the name of it ‘The New Mutants’ He huffed with a slight nod, not surprised in the least at her choice. Billy placed it down on the small table beside Max’s bed, hooking a hand under her comforter and tugging it over her exposed arm. His fingers gently brushed a stray hair away from her face, the faintest smile appearing on his lips. He shook his head with a sigh as he looked down at her. 

“I don’t hate him you know.” The words he’d heard her say earlier burned repeatedly within his mind. 

“I don’t hate you either, Shitbird.” He grumbled softly at the sleeping redhead. He lingered a moment longer, before he quietly retreated back to his own room, his stomach buzzing with a strange new sense of hope, and another feeling he couldn’t quite put his finger on.


	2. Cloudy with a Chance Of Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tide begins to take a hopeful turn for Max & Billy, although both are unsure how to feel about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies in advance for any noticeable grammatical errors, my tired eyes have combed over this countless times now so I'm just gonna post before I go mad. Enjoy :)

Rain thudded heavily against the ground as dark clouds brewed menacingly in the sky, the slight smell of wet asphalt and fresh mud hung loosely in the air. Max grumbled in annoyance, the expression coating her face perfectly matching the ongoing storm she was currently caught in. She trudged around to the back of the house, the rubber soles of her white converse squeaking irritably against the ground. Her damp hands clutched the chrome handle bar of her bike as she wheeled it alongside her, a bike that at that very moment she deemed a useless piece of garbage.

It was Sunday, having spent the day and night before at Mike’s house playing games, watching endless films and gorging unhealthy amounts of junk food with the rest of the party, they’d all departed the Wheeler residence to wander back to their own homes, mentally preparing themselves for the school week ahead. The heavens had decided to open not even five minutes into Max’s journey, and to add to her bad luck the chain on her bike decided to come loose sometime later making it a long trek back, and now she was soaked through to the bone. She walked into the garage letting her bike crash carelessly into the concrete, the wheels spun erratically like they were in a daze as she abandoned it on it’s side, angrily stomping up the wooden steps to the back door. She was at least thankful that Neil and Susan were away, the last thing she needed was a lecture. 

Swinging the door open, she hurried inside away from the rain almost sighing in relief at the warmth that enveloped her. The door shutting echoed loudly as Max toed off her muddy converse leaving them haphazardly strewn by the door, praying that somehow that they would be salvageable by throwing them in the washing machine. 

“I’ll sort them out later.” She sighed to herself as she peeled off her yellow rain mac and discarded it in the nearby utility closet. Her stomach grumbled with delight when she grabbed the open box of poptarts from the kitchen counter, tearing into the packet and shoving one in the toaster and the other in her mouth. She paused her chewing for a second to listen for any noise stirring from Billy’s bedroom. She glanced over at the clock that hung on the kitchen wall, it was nearly 11am. Max knew he was home this time as his car was parked out front, pretty badly she’d noted, meaning he was likely drunk when he came back last night and currently sleeping off a hangover. She figured he’d probably surface sometime in the late afternoon. 

She took another bite of her poptart and shuffled over to the phone that hung on the wall, snatching it off the receiver and padding in a number she’d grown all to familiar with in the last few months. 

“Hey, it’s me.” She greeted after Lucas’s voice filled the other end of the line after a few rings “Did you get home ok?”

“Yeah no problems.” Lucas replied “Did you? It started raining pretty bad.”

“No.” Max whined “I’m soaking wet as we speak.” 

She heard Lucas laugh on the other end “Ah shit that’s bad luck.” 

She rolled her eyes with a small smile. “I don’t suppose you or the guys know anything about fixing bike chains do you?”

“Did yours break again?” Lucas teased in a playful tone

“Came loose.” Max replied, leaning against wall “Fucking thing, right as I left Mike’s too, had to wheel it all the way back here in the rain.”

“Why didn’t you just go back to Mike’s ya lunatic?” Lucas scolded lightly “Or come to mine? You could have waited it out or called your mom.”

“I didn’t want to bother anyone, I get the feeling Mrs. Wheeler wanted some peace and quiet today.” Max explained, remembering the tired look on the older woman’s face as she called for them to keep the noise down. “And Mom’s away again with Neil, remember?”

“Oh yeah, sorry I forgot.” Lucas apologised “Don’t suppose Billy would’ve been keen to come get you either?”

“Um..yeah no.” Max snorted “No point in even asking.”

“True. Welllll” Lucas sang “Me and the guys can come fix it in the morning before school, we’ll just have to leave a little earlier.”

Max sighed with relief, a grin on her face “You’re a lifesaver! I owe you one, well all of you.”

“Meh, used to happen to Dustin all the time.” Lucas explained “I’m pretty sure he’ll know what to do, we can call Steve if anything goes badly.”

Max eyes widened at the idea “Um…”

Lucas laughed again “Yeah on second thought probably not the best idea if Billy’s around.”

“Definitely not the best.” Max agreed “Steve would be treading on forbidden territory so to speak.”

“I’ll call the guys then.” Lucas said “Let them know the plan, and I'll radio you later ok?”

“Sounds good.” Max smiled “Thanks Lucas, I really appreciate you helping me out.”

“Anything for my redheaded damsel in distress.” Lucas joked

“Don’t be a dork.” Max smirked, shaking her head. 

Lucas snickered “Talk to you later, miss you.”

“Miss you too.” She replied softly before they both ended the call, she placed the phone back on the receiver and scarfed down the rest of her pop tart before going to the toaster and snatching the other one. 

“The hell happened to you.” A familiar deep voice drawled, making Max squeak in surprise and whirl around to see Billy leaning lazily against the doorway, his gaze flickered over her drenched form holding an almost bemused expression. She briefly wondered how long he’d been awake, she hadn’t heard him moving around at all. 

“Rain.” Max mumbled tiredly with a slight sigh “Rain happened to me.” 

Max brushed past his taller frame and headed towards her own room with her poptart in hand, not feeling in the mood to hear him make fun of her. The only thing she craved right now was a scalding hot shower and a change of clothes. She wasted no time in peeling off her damp garments, grabbing her robe from her bedroom door and making a beeline for the bathroom, one that she unfortunately shared with Billy. Neil and Susan had their own connected to the master bedroom which meant Max and Billy were forced to share. Sharing with her stepbrother had meant she had to follow her own strict schedule to avoid clashing with him, he could take hours in there if he really wanted to, something he did more so out of spite than necessity. At that very moment though, Max couldn’t give two shits about following any schedule. She was wet, cold and dirty, and yearned for nothing more than to feel hot water against her skin.

As she waited for the water to warm up, she switched on the small radio they had on the bathroom counter, cringing at a loud metal song that blared from the speakers. She quickly lowered the volume and changed it to a different station. Max decided to take her sweet time for once, spending at least twenty minutes basking under the hot steamy water, scrubbing the dirt away from her skin and hair while humming along to the radio. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed taking long showers and getting lost in her own thoughts, that peace was sadly short lived when there was a sharp knock on the door. 

“Hey.” Came Billy's muffled voice “Leave some hot water for me, shitbird.”

She rolled her eyes with a sigh, wiping the soap suds from her face and shutting the water off. 

… … …

After showering, changing and a quick tidy up of the kitchen, Max had set on spending the rest of the day lounging in front of the TV and ignoring the impending doom of school. She had a math test she coming up that she hadn’t even begun to start studying for, but it could wait a little longer. Max plopped onto the end of the couch with a happy sigh, tucking her legs underneath her as she huddled into the snuggly material of her robe. The sounds of the shower running and heavy metal music playing from the bathroom drifted throughout the house, Billy had practically hightailed in there as soon as Max got out, he’d obviously had the same idea. She couldn’t help but smirk with satisfaction that she’d managed to get in there first for once.

Reaching over to grab the TV remote from the coffee table, her attention was drawn to a picture hanging up on the wall opposite from her, it was from Neil and Susan’s wedding day. Billy and Max stood behind their parents with false smiles stretched across their faces as Neil and Susan were sat in front of them, hands held affectionately over the other as they beamed into the camera lens. Max remembered how uncomfortable the picture had made her feel at the time, the whole day did in fact. She had been forced into wearing a lacy lilac dress that scratched against her skin which hadn’t helped with her sour mood. It still felt weird looking back at it now, to anyone else they would look like one big happy american family, only she knew that was farthest from the truth. 

She sighed, tearing her eyes away from the picture and snatching the remote to switch on the TV. After flipping through the channels to find something, she finally left it on one that was playing a familiar black and white movie. After a while of watching she could feel her eyelids getting heavy and it wasn’t long before she dozed off, the sound of rain drops pelting against the windows made her curl into herself more, the comforting heat wrapping around her as the voices from the TV soothed over her mind. 

… … …

Billy wandered into the living room and sat down on the couch beside Max sometime later, hair damp and hanging loosely around his face. His attention fixed on the TV before slowly drifting over to Max who had fallen asleep. He didn’t know why, but he was finding that the usual feeling of resentment that swirled within him previously whenever she was around had practically faded away into obscurity, now he wasn’t sure what he felt when he looked at her. It had nagged and gnawed away at him ever since that night he’d overheard her late night chat with Lucas.

For the first time ever he found himself willing to try not to be so much of an asshole, at least not to her, he certainly wasn’t going to make any promises when it came to others. He’d wanted to say something to her earlier when he saw her standing in the kitchen in soaking wet clothes, he’d heard her talking on the phone to Lucas about what had happened. A part of him felt annoyed that she hadn’t come to him for help but another part felt guilty that she didn’t feel like she could ask, Max would rather risk catching her death from a storm than bother him. He guessed that was something he’d have to work on, the only problem being how was he going to let her know she could rely on him? Or even that he wanted her to?

It had taken Billy time to admit it but he did care for Max, although when he’d tried to show it before he didn’t exactly go about it in the best of ways, the fear of getting hurt again ate away at him little by little. He wasn’t heartless, he just didn’t know if he could survive opening himself up only to be left alone again, but he knew he had to try. The fear of being alone forever seemed to have far outweighed the fear of abandonment, so he figured he would make room for her. 

Tuning back into reality Billy turns his attention back to the TV, propping his legs up on the coffee table and settling in to watch the film. He could only focus for a moment or two when he felt a sudden shift next to him, Max sat up slightly before sneezing into her hands twice. 

“You’re getting sick.” He almost snapped at her, feeling his anger rise slightly at the stupidity of her earlier little escapade in the rain, but he forced it back down trying not to slip back into default mode. Her baby blue eyes met his with a startled expression, like she was shocked to see him sitting there. He couldn’t blame her, they had both worked hard to avoid each other in recent months but part of him wanted to change that. 

“Oh…” She whispered, looking at him warily. “Sorry…?” 

“Why didn’t you call me?” His deep voice rumbled from beside her, eyes squinting in confusion at his question. They both knew the answer but the edge of his tone curved around his words in a way that suggested he wasn’t really asking, but more telling her that she should have called. His eyes held little to no expression as they bored into hers, she couldn’t help but notice they regarded her a little more softly than usual. “I could’ve picked you up.”

What the hell’s going on? She thought to herself.

“I thought you’d be asleep…” She murmured back quietly, and she also had her bike but she didn’t feel like adding that. 

It was silent between them for another moment 

“Next time call me.” His eyes stared into her eyes in a way that made her feel like he was making her promise. “Now you’re gonna get sick.” She expected him to bring up Neil as an excuse but the words never came. 

“Ok...I will.” She said hesitantly, not really sure if either of them meant it or not. 

She almost flinched when he reached out a hand and pressed the back of his fingers against her forehead. 

“You're burning up.” He commented, his handing dropping away as quickly as it appeared. Her mouth hung open in puzzlement as she tried to find the right words to say, her brain was failing her. Before she could even string a sentence together, Billy pushed himself from the couch and stormed away into the dining room leaving her sitting somewhat speechless from their interaction. She could hear the sound of clinking glass before Billy appeared again, a bottle of whiskey and a tumbler clutched between his fingers. 

His weight flopped back down beside her making her bounce slightly. She wordlessly watched as he leaned forward, unscrewed the whiskey cap and poured a glass before placing the bottle back down. 

“Here.” He gruffed, holding the glass out for her to take “Drink this, it’ll help.”

She hesitantly took it from him, staring at the amber liquid inside before looking back up at him with uncertainty, not just at the fact that he was offering her alcohol but his sudden display of care about her health, it definitely wasn’t a side to Billy she’d seen or experienced before. 

“Jesus, It’s not poisoned Max.” He rolled his eyes at her reluctance, taking the glass from her and swigging some of it. “See? Now you.” He passed it back to her. 

“I didn’t think it was poisoned.” She scowled softly, hand wrapping around the glass. “I’ve never tried whiskey before.”

“Well then you’re in for a hell of a surprise.” Billy replied dryly, before nodding his head towards it “Try it.”

Max sighed before raising the glass to her lips, taking a large gulp. The sweet taste only lasted for a quick second before she felt an overpowering burning sensation claw it way down her throat, her sense of taste, smell and sight moulded into one making her want to vioently heave and wretch. . 

“Oh god.” She yakked with disgust, visibly shuddering at the strong taste. “Holy shit, that’s nasty!”

Billy chuckles at her reaction with amusement

“People really drink this for fun?” She grimaced

“You get used to it.” Billy smirked “It doesn’t taste so bad after a while.”

“I don’t think I can drink the rest.” She shook her head, the awful taste still lingering in her mouth. 

“Hold your nose and try it.” Billy said

“My nose?” Max frowned.

“Trust me.” Two big words that Max never thought she’d even consider doing when it came to her step brother, but she does as he suggests, pinching her nose between her fingers and gulping down the rest. The afterburn was still there but the taste wasn’t as bad.

“Told you.” Billy grunted “Masks the taste.”

“How did you know that?”

Billy shrugged “Tip someone taught me.”

She briefly wondered who, but swallowed the urge to ask not wanting to ruin the good mood he seemed to be in. 

“Burns the sickness out of you in no time.” Billy said as he swiped his packet of cigarettes from the coffee table, taking one out and placing it between his lips. 

“You do this every time you feel a cold coming on?”

“Pretty much.” He mumbled as he lit the cigarette “Either whiskey or what I like to call a molotov shot.” BIlly exhaled the smoke slowly

“Oh you mean the cocktail?”

“No dipshit.” Billy rolled his eyes “That's a type of bomb. Besides do I look like the type that sits around sipping cocktails?”

"Oh." Max laughed, her cheeks flushing pink “Yeah, I guess not.” 

“It’s a shot of vodka with a shit load of black pepper.” Billy explained “...a bit of garlic if you feel like being fancy.”

“Damn, didn’t know you were so into your home remedies” Max teased, her eyebrows arched in surprise “You’ve heard of Tylenol right?” 

Billy let out a dry laugh “Shut up Max.” He shoved her leg lightly, before leaning over to flick some ash into a glass tray. “Tylenol’s for pussies.” He joked, Max rolled her eyes this time, shaking her head. 

She smiled at the fact she’d made him laugh and settled into the cushions comfortably, for the first time ever she didn’t feel so tense around him and he didn’t seem like he was there to antagonize her for once, Billy even looked relaxed himself. They continued to watch the film together, and after that they watched another one, making lighthearted conversation and jokes throughout. Neither of them commented on what was going on, instead they had both just let whatever sort of olive branch was growing in between them happen and an odd sense of peace forming amongst the two. Billy and Max would be too stubborn to admit it, but they didn’t feel like they were enemies anymore. 

… … … 

The following morning, Max groaned with tiredness as she trudged slowly down the steps into the garage. She had to wake up earlier then usual so the boys could fix the chain on her bike. It had been a painful process that she regretted committing herself to, but she dragged herself out from the warm depths of her bed nonetheless. She already wanted the day to be over with and it hadn’t even started yet. She wiped the sleep from her eyes with a tried yawn as she reached the last step, shivering slightly from the cold air. She glanced down at the grey concrete where she left her bike. 

“Huh?” She whispered to herself in confusion, instead of finding it on the ground where she’d angrily dumped it the day before, her eyes drifted over to the wall where it was propped against it carefully. The chrome bars and metal frame were sparkling brightly as if they’d recently been polished, and the chain that had come loose now sat taught and was perfectly in place. 

Her bike had been fixed.

She glanced back behind her up at the back door with a perplexed look on her face. It sure as hell wasn’t in that condition yesterday, she felt like pinching herself just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She walked over the bike, her fingers curling around one of the handle bars. 

She briefly wondered who was responsible, a smile ghosting over her lips when she realised there was really only one person who it could’ve been. She'd faintly heard him going out to the garage last night after she went to bed, and start tinkering around with something outisde, she'd just assumed he was working on his car.. 

"Billy." She beamed, her heart swelling with a newfound softness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Everyone!
> 
> I hope that you enjoyed chapter 2! I actually had massive brain farts over this one, I knew what I wanted to happen I just couldn't seem to get the words out they way I wanted them, but I got there in the end! My main aim was to get some interaction with Billy/Max, some of what Billy's thinking/feeling and to form an olive branch of sorts. So I hope that translates lol 
> 
> Chapters from this point on will time hop forward a little (not too much though), that's where the one-shot style will come in. 
> 
> Thank you for all the reads, Kudos's & comments, I appreciate them all!  
> Do let me know your thoughts and comments for chapter 2, I'm already planning chap 3 :)


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